Browned cabbage the secret to this soup’s flavour

30-Minute Miracle:

The warm weather is finished, and with hurricane Sandy coming our way, we can expect more cold wind, leaden skies and driving rain or sleet this week. It’s time to make soup.

Today’s recipe is a simple but very healthy, and addictively delicious, soup that my 16-year-old son invented. It’s made with humble ingredients: cabbage, onions, rapini and hot pepper sauce. The secret to its deep flavour is that cabbage becomes sweet and almost nutty when it’s browned in the pan.

There’s spiciness in the broth, which is balanced by the bitterness of the rapini. It doesn’t sound like much on paper, but it is a wonderful thing to have after being outside in the cold, and it fortifies you from the very first sip.

If you can’t find rapini — or find its bitterness too much for your taste — you can use arugula, broccoli or spinach (or a combination of these) instead. In that case, I would tone down the spiciness of the broth a little bit.

There are two condiments to add at the very end that may be unfamiliar to you. One is a hot sauce called Sriracha hot chili sauce and the other is a dark brown, very fragrant sesame oil. Both can be found in Asian specialty food stores or well-stocked supermarkets. You can also find rice noodles in those kinds of stores. If you don’t have Sriracha, you can substitute your favourite hot sauce, such as Tabasco.

To make this soup into a one-dish meal, you could add some shredded leftover meat to the broth, some cubes of tofu, or slide in a poached egg just before serving. Or you could keep the soup as it is and serve it with a grilled cheese sandwich.

No matter how you serve it, it will keep away the winter chill better than anything I know.

In a large pot, heat two tablespoons (30 ml) of the oil, with heat on medium-low. Add the chili pepper flakes. A few seconds later, stir in the onions so that they are well coated with the oil. Cover and cook 10 minutes until soft and transparent.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or wok, heat the remaining two tablespoons (30 ml) of oil and add the cabbage on medium-high heat. Cook and stir until cabbage is browned at the edges. Add the chopped garlic and stir for 15 to 20 seconds, then stir in the soy sauce until everything sizzles.

Scrape the cabbage mixture into the large pot with the onion mixture. Cut the broccoli or rapini into bite-size chunks, if you are using it. Stir greens into the onion mixture too and fry for a few minutes. Then pour in the broth. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 10 minutes.

In the last minute of cooking, put in the rice noodles and press down to submerge with liquid. They will soften in just two or three minutes. When they are tender but not mushy, remove the soup from the heat, and season to taste with sesame oil and hot sauce. Serve immediately.